Liu Not Taking Any Chances With First Name

After watching Bill Thompson’s friends call him “Billy” throughout the campaign, and hearing about all the problems Governor David Paterson is having getting people to stop using his underdog first name, new Comptroller John Liu has upped the level of decorum in the office. According to a new directive, employees are required to call him “Mr. Comptroller.” And, to make things even more regal, they’re required to rise when he enters in the morning.

“I am making the adjustment myself. I’m used to calling him J.L.,” said his press secretary, Sharon Lee. “This is universal, for people who have known him for years or people who are meeting him for the first time.”